Category Archives: maang tikka

What is the difference between a shringar patti, a maang tikka, and the jada naga? Many brides wear all of three pieces.

A shringar patti (left) is the full three-part tiara, in the center of which resides the maang tikka, or string with dangling jewel. However, the Jada Naga (right) has a hallowed place in Hindu tradition and mythology.

Krishna is said to have defeated the evil multiheaded serpent Kaliya, who was poisoning the Yamuna River. In the 13th Century, the disciple Sidhendra Yogi had a vision. It was a dance drama where Krishna’s favorite consort, Satyabhama, expresses her desire for total devotion to her Lord through conjugal union. Yogi found the dancers in Kuchipudi, a small village in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, India.

The Jada is a decoration for a floor-length braid, which symbolizes the black cobra Kiliya. Antique Jada Nagas were made of cloth cord with a choti at the bottom — the serpent’s head. Modern pieces can be all gold.

Barbara Steinberg is the daughter of the late conductor Benjamin Steinberg, founding Artistic Director of the Symphony of the New World, the first fully integrated orchestra in America.

She has been an online community manager for 20 years, including creating the first multimedia community on the web in 1998, to managing a community of CIO's at Computerworld, to moderating online safety in massively multiplayer online games like Habbo and Moshi Monsters.

She is also a life-long collector of hair ornaments.

BarbaraAnne's Hair Comb Blog started 10 years ago because antique dealers were treating hair combs like the throwaway items of estate sales. An online movement to change this and showcase collections exhibited in museums was needed. For her work, she was invited to present with The Creative Museum.

Delightfully, her blog community has merged with the Ethnic Jewels community to add more richness and scholarship to the field of Ethnic Jewelry.

BarbaraAnne and all the kids around the world at Habbo send a message to you: Peace on Earth.